


When Earth Turns to Air

by HelloThere3306



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Sokka Has PTSD, Suki Has PTSD, They were in a war so it makes sense, Toph Beifong Has PTSD, Toph Beifong-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:55:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26127604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelloThere3306/pseuds/HelloThere3306
Summary: No matter how hard she tries to hide them, Toph has issues.
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Sokka, Toph Beifong & Suki
Comments: 3
Kudos: 67





	When Earth Turns to Air

**Author's Note:**

> Toph love <3

Toph buried her hands in the dirt. It was comforting. Familar. She pushed harder, straining her wrists until she found the clay like consistancy of mud that she liked so much.

Toph had talked to her parents once after everything settled down, to tell them that she would not be seeing them anymore. As expected, her mother fretted and her father argued, but Toph argued back. She yelled there was nothing they could do to stop her and that she would be living with her new friends. Smugly, she relayed that those friends consisted of two warriors, a master waterbender, the new Firelord, and the Avatar himself. In reality, she was only going to be staying with Sokka and Suki on Kyoshi Island, but she liked the way her parents shut up at the mention of the Avatar.

Every now and then Toph sent letters, but recently she couldn't find the words. It wasn't as if she told them anything past how the weather was doing anyways. 

Toph unburied her hands from the ground, bending a stream of clay up with her. She wished she really knew what Appa looked like, that way she could make a little figure for Aang. As it was, she just tossed it around and changed it's shape as she wished. Eventually, she became restless and tossed the bit of mud away. 

She plopped down on her back and stared blankly into the sky.

The sun was up there somewhere.

Vaguely, she felt Suki approach, but she was too busy feeling her pocket for the moon rock. She carried it with her everywhere now, not so much a good luck charm as a reminder. 

Suki gracefully sat down beside Toph. "What're you doing?"

Toph wryly relayed the prepared lie. "Had to get away from Sokka. He's killin' me with all those schedules!"

Suki laughed. Toph normally hated the people who laughed like Suki, but somehow she made it sound pretty. "I feel ya there. He's got breakfast, lunch and dinner planned for the next two and a half months."

"I know. I wanted Fire Nation food yesterday but we just _had_ to stick to the plan," Toph growled. 

Toph felt when Suki's back hit the ground. "Everyone says Katara's a mom but they're all just laying on the fact that Sokka's the weird uncle."

"Does that make you the crazy aunt?"

"Maybe. But you're the rowdy cousin."

"Aw, thanks."

The two stewed in a comfortable silence, feeling the heat like a blanket. Toph wondered if Suki had to shield her eyes from the sun. How did that work? Toph brought her hands above her eyes. If people had to hold them there, wouldn't it start to hurt? 

"If I'm right," Suki interrupted Toph's absent thoughts, "right now is 'fun time' on Sokka's schedule. Wanna go prank him?"

Toph grinned. "You know me so well."

~ ~ ~

Toph, Suki learned, had an inventory of pranks stored in her mind just for an occasion such as this. With eachother's help, they managed to make a structure similar to a hunting tactic they'd seen Sokka use before. As soon as he stepped within the little circle, the rope would tighten and hoist him into the air. Even though Toph wouldn't be able to see Sokka's incredulous expression, she had a partner in crime to describe it to her.

"Now what do we do?" Suki asked.

"Call for him. SOKKA, C'MERE!"

Toph heard bounding steps from inside the house, and then the door slammed open and Sokka called out. Toph didn't recognize what he said, because apparentely she was standing too close to the door. She felt it slam into her back, which is when she lost her balance.

And fell right into her own trap. 

Her wrist was caught up in the rope, she was hoisted into the air, she let out a yell of surprise.

And then she wasn't on Kyoshi Island. 

She was in the air. She couldn't see anything, she couldn't _feel_ anything, only Sokka's hand around her wrist and the wind and the _heat,_ the hot air balloons falling. She couldn't _hear_ anything, just the _whooshing_ of the wind and the blood in her ears. 

There were tears falling down her face, and she couldn't say anything, she could only think _I can't die, I can't Sokka please-_

And then she felt the earth again, and everything came rushing back. 

Sokka and Suki were holding her hands, Suki was stroking the tears away from her cheeks. 

Sokka's voice. "Toph, you're okay, you're here with us, you're not there-"

"I KNOW THAT!" Toph yelled, a sob forcing itself from her throat. "So why can't I be here?"

Suki squeezed her hand tight. "Toph, why didn't you tell us?"

Toph's breath hitched and it took a few minutes before she was able to answer. "Because i-it's stupid! Everyone else went through much worse, and _I'm_ the one getting nightmares about it!"

"We do too," Sokka whispered.

"Wha-at?"

"I have nightmares that I wasn't able to save anyone. That I let my dad down, and that Aang wasn't able to defeat Ozai." Toph heard Sokka's voice wavering, and she imagined that maybe he had tears in his eyes as well.

Suki jumped in too. "I dream about the boiling rock, and my village burning."

Toph took a deep breath. "Why does it happen?"

Sokka placed a hand on her back. "We were in a war Toph. We were on the front lines. It's normal."

"It's okay to be scared Toph. It's okay to be there sometimes. Just remember that we were there too. And we're here now," Suki mumbled into Toph's hair.

Toph managed a shaky smile. "Thank you."

Sokka and Suki pulled her up. 

"Let's go have some _real_ fun now."


End file.
